Andy Steffen

[Andy Steffen]

Thanks for all the replies. At least I know my instinct wasn’t completely unfounded. But Kyle was very clear about his replies and I even emailed back to be sure. I’ll post our conversation just so that everyone has the same information. Hopefully he doesn’t mind me quoting him.

ME:
Hello,

I am getting ready to place an order for some accessories but want to be sure I’m getting the right ones for my purposes.

Specifically I want a set of the new 3 micron diamond plates. I’ve been absent from the hobby for about a year so hopefully I didn’t just miss the answer I’m looking for, but what are you guys using on the glass side of these stones? Everything I’ve read on the forum makes sense as far as using the 3 micron stones between the 1000 grit diamonds and the ceramics – I have the 1200/1600 ceramics – but I’ve never used a lapping film before so I can only guess at how it compares or fits into the mix. I also think I want to get the micro fine ceramics as well so I don’t know how coarse of a film to order. Can you recommend one to go in between the .6 micron ceramic and the 5 micron leather strop?

Kyle:
Hi Andy,
We recommend using the Diamond Lapping Film after your strops. If you have the 5/3.5 micron strops than the DLF you should go with is the 1.5 and 1 micron.

Me:
Thanks for the reply. That surprised me to hear that you recommend the films after the strops since the very few mentions I have found about films on the forum show people using them before the strops. So thanks for clarifying that. Is there an issue, then, with the slight bevel that the leather causes on the edge that might keep the glass/film from hitting the edge evenly?
I currently use the 1/.5 micron kangaroo strops so would I want to order the .1 micron film to use on the backs of the 3 micron diamond paddles?

Kyle:
The rounding of the edge caused by the leather is so minor it will not make a problem when using the diamond lapping film. To be extra sure of this you can stop using very light pressure.

The 0.1 micron Diamond Lapping Film is exactly what I recommend, given your current set up.

So now I’m more confused than ever. As it stands though, I think I will follow Kyle’s advice and order the .1 micron film to follow the strops. But I might order some coarser film as well in case I don’t have luck with that progression so that I can follow the above advice and use the films before the strops.

I also suggest you use the Vista guide arms when you start playing with lapping film. And/Or a good magnification to make sure your angles are the same. A very minor difference in angle will frustrate you with lapping films. They are not forgiving with angle like strops are. Just a heads up.

https://knife.wickededgeusa.com/forum/10-advanced-techniques-and-sharpening-strategies/13050-using-the-variable-thickness-stone-adapters%5B/quote%5D

I do actually use the VSTA adapters and you’re right, they’re a lifesaver. Without them I don’t imagine I’d have any chance with the films. Before I got those I was getting quite frustrated even switching between the diamond plates that the ceramic stones because of the slight angle difference.

The fact that I’m using kangaroo leather instead of cow leather might help prevent the rounding of the edge but we’ll see…

[Andy Steffen]

I’ve been absent from the hobby for about a year so hopefully I didn’t just miss the answer I’m looking for, but what are you guys using on the glass side of these stones? Everything I’ve read makes sense here as far as using the 3 micron stones between the 1000 grit diamonds and the ceramics – I have the 1200/1600 ceramics – but I’ve never used a lapping film before so I can only guess at how it compares or fits into the mix.

Given what I’ve read on it, it seems like maybe a good progression would be:

1000 D -> 3 micron D -> 1200/1600 C -> 3 micron lapping film? -> 5 micron leather strops

Or maybe I should go ahead and add the microfine ceramics into the mix and go with a lower grit stropping film:

1000 D -> 3 micron D -> 1.4 micron C[/i ]-> 1200/1600 C -> .6 micron C -> 1 or .5 micron lapping film? -> 5 micron leather strops

[Andy Steffen]

I was wondering if this was still in use. I submitted a Mora knife a little over a week ago and haven’t seen it added, nor did I get a point for the submission. Did I do something incorrectly? I’ve got plenty more to add in time.

[Andy Steffen]

I have the paperstone base. I had considered upgrading to one of the others but it turns out I’m really happy with the paperstone. It’s just got a really nice color and feel. And with the fact that the stone ones won’t necessarily match the ones in the photos at all, I’m glad I went this way.

Edit: just reread that and saw that you already have the paperstone… Guess that makes my recommendation less relevant.

[Andy Steffen]

Hey, that makes sense. I was kinda planning to put the low angle adapter there once I get it but wasn’t sure if it would fit in that spot. I didn’t even think about a loupe since I haven’t gotten that yet, either. Thanks guys!

[Andy Steffen]

I just received my case. This might be a stupid question but can anyone tell me what goes here? The cheat sheet that comes with the case labels that space “keys”… Is there something I’m missing?

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[Andy Steffen]

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[Andy Steffen]

A quick update now that I’ve got time to post it. Sure enough, I got my kit right before Christmas and was able to spend a little but of time messing with it on the holiday. I had found a few junk knives (I mean really, REALLY junk!) in our kitchen at work that I wanted to sharpen, but for my first tries I found a four-pack of cheap Farberware steak knives at Walmart for $14. I thought that was a good idea because they were already shaped, uniformly, but weren’t anything special or amazingly sharp out of the box. This way I would have a great comparison of before and after, and some in between steps, and wouldn’t run into any surprises with trying to fix something before I even got the hang of simple sharpening.

After using it I was very impressed!! I spent some time on one of the steak knives and I don’t mind saying, the learning curve was much quicker than I had expected. Honestly, it felt perfectly natural right away and I even got a good speed going. I did slow down for the strops and still managed to slice those a bit, so there’s definitely more care required there, but otherwise this thing works about as perfectly as I could imagine. I did definitely note that on the first knife it didn’t get nearly as sharp as I was hoping, even going through the whole progression, but I had read of this being common so I wasn’t worried. But it was still sharper and looked better than the three I didn’t touch.

Since I felt pretty good about using it, I decided to jump right in and try the mezzaluna that I had given the girlfriend for Christmas. That wasn’t easy! I’ll post a link later for anyone that cares to see it, but after some trial and error I was able to screw it to the Wicked Edge and sharpen (reshape) the edge that was messed up from the factory. Unfortunately the way I screwed it in place meant that it wasn’t nearly as stable as it would be in a clamp, but by using my other hand to steady it while I sharpened it with the other, I was able to get a good uniform edge on it with the 100. Since it wasn’t completely stable I found myself having to use the sharpie test and put a burr on it through each stone, carefully taking the burr off by running a finer stone along the inside each time. In the end I’m very satisfied with the results, considering, even thought it doesn’t look the best. I’ll try to post pictures later.

Moving on to the knives from work. These were in terrible shape. One in particular literally had no edge left at all. I don’t just mean it was really dull, I mean there was zero evidence of it ever even being sharp to begin with. Which was nice because it gave me the opportunity to start from scratch. I set it up for 18.65° and tore into it with the 100s until I got the chips out of it and then moved through the rest of my set. By the time I was done, now that my stones are pretty well broken in from all the work they did on the mezzaluna, this junky knife came out sharper than I could have ever believed!! I seriously cannot describe how amazed I was… I just kept staring at it! Then I did the other two, which were very similar knives that someone had apparently taken to a grinder to try and sharpen. These went fairly quickly and turned out great as well – one with minimal stropping, and the other with 100 strokes each from the 5.0/3.5 set 1.5° in just to compare. I really see the benefits now of each strop. I cannot wait to get back at it and do the other two Farberware knives now that it’s all broken in.

Which I guess brings me to my only real question for anyone that has bothered to read this far. How many strokes do you use in each stone? I know how to start out, looking for the burr and making an even bevel, and I’ve read all the opinions on how much to strop, but I haven’t seen much for the steps in between. I tried doing ten and 20 strokes with each of the subsequent grits, but that didn’t seem like enough so I moved to 50. Is that too much?

And I guess also, I’ve decided to go ahead and order the 1200/1600 stones before I get into my good knives, as well as the 1.0/.5 ‘roo strops. Anyone care to agree or disagree with this decision before I place the order?

[Andy Steffen]

No. The 5/3.5 micron strops work perfectly after the 1200/1600 stones. The micron size spec may not be entirely correct or it may be the “burnishing” they deliver, but these strops give a beautiful mirror finish after the 1200/1600 stones (although, according to Phil, it is not a mirror 😉 ). Also see http://moleculepolishing.wordpress.com/category/stropping/ .

That’s a very helpful blog! Thanks for that, and the rest of your help. Happy Christmas to you, too! Hopefully I get some one-on-one time with my new toy over the break!

[Andy Steffen]

I’ve been reading this all night. Even if I had no interest in knives I think I would find this interesting. Thanks!

[Andy Steffen]

Thanks, guys, for chiming in. I’ve been spending the last several days watching videos and reading the forums whenever I have any free time, and you’re right there’s plenty to learn! I think I’ve got a basic understanding of things at this point, a starting point at least. But there are a couple things I’m curious about.

First, is it counter productive to go backwards on the grit comparison chart when switching from stones to strops? I get that they have different functions and behaviors – stones do the work and strops are a finishing tool, essentially – but let’s say I decide to add the 1200/1600 or the micro ceramics to my collection. Would I then want to stop using my “larger” 5/3.5 micron strops and move straight to a 1/.5 set? Judging by the pictures I think I’d do well to keep using them, but if the few scratches that remain are going to be deeper than what is left by the ceramics, then maybe not.

Also, I’ve seen several people on here say they prefer or recommend going straight to the 1.4m/.6m micro fine ceramics vs the 1200/1600 super fine – that it’s not too big of a jump for from the 1000 diamond. Others have said that the 1.4m is actually functionally coarser than the 1200. But I’ve never seen a real explanation. Anyone care to clarify that one to me? By the numbers it seems I would be better to buy both… And then the same question would apply to following the micro fine stones with the coarser strops.

Honestly, I can really see me moving straight the the chosera stones once I really get into this, so those two questions might be a bit moot anyway. But as I said before, for now this sharpener will be serving mostly a purpose of utility rather than cosmetics so I think I’ll be ok with what I’ve already ordered for a good long while.

As for my Katana knives, I should say that they are still by far the best knives I’ve ever owned, and came right out of the box very sharp by my previous standards. The ones I use for meats are actually still very sharp. It’s just the ones that I use daily for lemons and different fibrous things that seems to be dying quicker than I had expected. I’ve gotten fairly good with the steel and that helped for awhile but not so much anymore which leads me to believe that a sharper angle might be the way to go, even though it might require more care. And yes, I completely agree about the quality of the board playing a big part in all of this. When I bought these knives I also treated myself to a very nice, but huge, John Boos board, and just recently bought a second smaller one as well.

I also just got the tracking number for my WEPS set – looks like it’ll be here on Monday. So in the coming weeks I’ll be sure to put my more educated questions in their proper categories.

Thanks again!

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